The Vikings Are Trying To Repeat Their Green Bay Blueprint In A New Way

The Minnesota Vikings are heading back to Lambeau Field with a new-yet-familiar quarterback.

The Details

39-22 win over Green Bay in Week 1, but the Vikings will turn to him Sunday as their season moves into an important stretch.

Kyler Murray remains hurt and ineffective. Meanwhile,

Carson Wentz is coming off the worst performance in NFL history against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, which led Minnesota to bring Cousins back in a trade this week.

That makes the rematch an interesting test for the Vikings, who already know what it takes to beat Green Bay. The first game wasn’t a sustainable blueprint for offensive dominance. Minnesota fell behind 22-10, Murray left the game with a concussion, Wentz took over, and the Vikings eventually scored 29 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

More than 25% of their total points scored this season were in that fourth quarter alone. The defense took control late, Minnesota found enough offense to stay within striking distance, and the Packers never recovered.

Now the Vikings have to figure out how much of that same formula can carry over to Lambeau. Cousins gives Minnesota a different option at quarterback, but the Vikings aren’t bringing him back because they expect him to suddenly make this the greatest offense in NFL history. They need him to provide stability at a position that’s become a major concern over the last few weeks.

The timing makes the move even crazier. Cousins has only had a couple of days to get back into the building and refamiliarize himself with an offense he hasn’t run since leaving the Vikings after the 2023 season. He isn’t just starting from zero. He spent two seasons playing under Kevin O’Connell’s system and already has plenty of experience throwing to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson.

That familiarity could be valuable against a Green Bay defense that will know Minnesota is trying to get the ball to its best playmakers. Cousins doesn’t need to replicate the exact numbers he produced during his best seasons in Minnesota or even his start in Vegas. If anything, the Vikings would probably be thrilled if he can keep the offense on schedule, avoid turnovers that give Green Bay easy opportunities, and make the throws available.

That would give Minnesota a chance to lean on the part of its team that already proved capable of giving the Packers problems. Brian Flores’ defense eventually overwhelmed the Green Bay offense in the first meeting.

Jordan Love finished with 387 passing yards, but the Packers couldn’t sustain their early advantage once Minnesota started creating pressure and forcing difficult situations for Love. Green Bay’s 22-10 lead disappeared in mere minutes, and the Vikings finished the afternoon with 29 unanswered points.

The circumstances are different now, but the challenge for Flores’ defense hasn’t changed much. Love is still the player Minnesota has to contain. Green Bay has enough speed and playmaking ability to punish mistakes, and the Packers won’t forget how quickly a double-digit lead disappeared the first time these teams met.

Minnesota can’t expect another comeback to save it. The Vikings also shouldn’t need one. The Week 1 game highlighted that they can beat Green Bay if they stay in the game, control the football, and let their defense get more aggressive in the second half. The Vikings held the ball for nearly six more minutes in that matchup, and the offense eventually did enough to keep the defense from being completely worn down.

That could be even more important Sunday.

Minnesota is going into Lambeau without Murray and with a quarterback who has barely had time to get reacquainted with his teammates. The best way to take some pressure off Cousins is to ensure the game doesn’t turn into a shootout where he has to throw 40 times.

There’s also a strange familiarity to Cousins’ return to Green Bay. His final game with the Vikings was at Lambeau Field in 2023, when he suffered an Achilles injury that ended his season and seemed to mark the end of his time in Minnesota.

Cousins can now walk back into that same stadium in purple, this time because the Vikings needed an experienced quarterback to take over immediately. But the story Sunday isn’t really about whether Cousins can make his return memorable. It’s going to be about whether Minnesota can take what it learned from its first meeting with Green Bay and apply it to a completely different situation with a Packers team that is hot and confident coming off their dominant road win over the New England Patriots last week.

The Vikings already know they can win at Lambeau this Sunday. They also know it won’t be easy, especially at Lambeau. If Cousins can give the offense enough stability and Flores’ defense can once again make Love uncomfortable, Minnesota has a chance to make the first meeting matter all over again. However, this time the Vikings would rather not wait until falling down 22-10 to figure it out.

Logan Harlow

A sports writer and recent journalism graduate from East Carolina University. He covers the Minnesota Timberwolves for multiple publications and has written for The East Carolinian. Work focuses on the NBA, NFL, and the stories, players, and moments that make sports interesting to fans.